Raiders Rookie QB Carr Returns To Practice After Concussion

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Oakland Raiders rookie quarterback Derek Carr returned to practice three days after being knocked out of a preseason game with a concussion and sore ribs.

Carr practiced on a limited basis Monday and his status for the upcoming exhibition game in Green Bay on Friday night remains a question.

Carr got hurt in the fourth quarter last Friday against Detroit when he was hit from behind by Larry Webster. Carr got up and immediately pointed at his ribs but later said the concussion was more of a concern. Carr has never had a concussion previously in his career.

“I never had one ever so it’s a little scary to me,” he said. “Obviously, I’m feeling a lot better now than I was. I’m just looking forward to taking it day by day. Obviously, it’s a slow process. Just progressing as the week goes on.”

Carr played well before the injury and even got one drive with the starting offensive line and receivers after starter Matt Schaub left the game.

“It was exciting,” he said. “I was screaming out plays. I was way too loud, they told me to calm down a little bit. It was great. It was good experience to be in with them. It’s only the second game. I have a long way to get better.”

Carr lamented one throw in particular, when he overthrew Brian Leonhardt on a seam pattern on his first pass attempt of the game. Carr said he might have been too excited on that throw and his mechanics got out of whack. But Carr recovered to complete 9 of 16 passes for 109 yards and he threw a TD pass to Jake Murphy.

Playing mostly against second-teamers, Carr fared better than Schaub did against the Lions’ first-string defense.

Schaub has led the Raiders to one score in seven drives over the first two exhibition games as Oakland’s first-team offense has struggled to find any consistency. Schaub has completed 11 of 20 passes for 108 yards, one interception and no touchdowns for a passer rating of 49.6.

“How our offense goes is how the quarterback goes,” Schaub said. “Just be more consistent in what we’re doing.”

Schaub has faced an unusual amount of blitzing for the preseason with defenses bringing extra rushers on more than half of his dropbacks so far, according to Pro Football Focus.

That has forced Schaub to get rid of the ball quickly, with only three of his passes — and none of his completions — going more than 10 yards downfield.

Neither Schaub nor coach Dennis Allen is too concerned about the play of the first-team offense in the first two preseason games. But they expect a better performance in the dress rehearsal Friday against Green Bay.

“Do I think we need to be able to go out and execute and make some plays? I think that’s something that we’d all like to see,” Allen said. “A little bit more consistency would probably be the right term for what I’m looking for offensively. We’ve gone out and made some plays and done some nice things. We just haven’t been as consistent as we need to be and this would be a good week to get better at that.”